Download Step 03 Summary
STEP 03 OF 06
Build Your UDJC Riding Program
You already did the first important piece of work.
You placed your current students into Unicorn, Level B, Level E, or Level A.
Now those placements have to become a real weekly riding program.
This is where a Certified Riding School starts becoming visible in the arena.
Do not take your existing lesson schedule, change the names of the classes, and assume the job is finished.
A UDJC level is an educational promise.
If a student is enrolled in Unicorn, B, E, or A, the lesson format, riding frequency, trainer attention, horse assignment, and progression need to support the education that belongs to that level.
Start With the Students, Not the Schedule
Take the student placement list you created in Step 1 and count them.
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How many Unicorn students do you have?
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How many Level B riders?
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How many Level E riders?
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How many Level A riders?
Those numbers should drive your first program draft.
Do not move riders around simply to make the spreadsheet look cleaner.
Do not move a rider up because you need one more student to fill a group.
Do not keep a rider down because the correct class is less convenient for the family.
And do not worry if one level is temporarily small.
A school can have twenty Level E riders and only two Level A riders. Another school may have a large beginner program and almost no advanced students yet.
That is fine.
The important thing is that the pathway is real.
The Foundation of Every Level
There are a few principles that apply across the program.
Dressage and correct flatwork are the base.
That does not mean every student is training to become a Dressage competitor. It means position, balance, rhythm, steering, transitions, accuracy, use of the aids, and the ability to influence the horse correctly before speed and height.
Jumping is added to that education, it does not replace it.
The trainer chooses the horse.
Horse assignment is an educational and welfare decision.
The student's favorite horse, a parent's preference, or the desire to win the next class does not override suitability, workload, confidence, soundness, and what the rider needs to learn.
Progress is based on education.
A student does not automatically move because they have been in a level for six months.
Later we will work through the Badge system in detail. For now, build the program around where the students actually are today.
Unicorn Playtime
Ages 3 to 5
Unicorn should look different from the rest of your riding school. These are very small children.
The program combines small ponies, pony care, grooming, leading, balance games, movement, simple stable tasks, and short pieces of riding.
Playtime groups remain small, with no more than three children.
A child may ride for a few minutes, get off, groom the pony, play a useful balance game, lead the pony, and then ride again.
That is not wasted time.
That is exactly what early equestrian education should look like.
As Unicorn students become more capable, their riding can become more focused.
They may begin doing more lead line or lunge line work, posting and sitting trot, balance exercises, and more deliberate preparation for the next stage.
But do not turn the entire Unicorn program into a miniature Level B lesson.
It should feel like play to the child and look like education to the trainer.
Level B
One Rider. One Trainer.
Level B is where structured beginner riding begins.
This is not a group lesson.
One trainer works with one rider because this is where the foundation for everything later is being built.
Students develop:
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Balance and position
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Lunge line skills
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Walk, trot, and canter education on the lunge line
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Steering and control Independent walk and trot
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Correct basic aids
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Grooming and tacking
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Confidence and independence around the horse
Do not skip this stage because group lessons are easier to schedule or financially more attractive.
A rider who cannot yet control the horse safely and independently does not benefit from being placed into a group simply because there is an empty space.
Bad foundations become much harder to correct later.
Two rides each week can be very valuable for Level B riders when the family and school can support it. Beginners improve through repetition.
Level E
The Group Lesson Pathway
Level E is where the program changes significantly.
These riders are independent enough to learn in a group, and Level E lessons contain no more than three riders.
The range inside Level E can be broad.
A new Level E rider may be able to walk and trot safely in the group and have canter experience from the lunge line but still be learning how to canter independently.
A more advanced Level E rider may already:
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Walk, trot, and canter independently
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Ride easy Dressage patterns
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Work accurately through figures and transitions
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Ride poles and gymnastics
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Jump small educational courses
Those students can still belong in Level E together if the trainer can create one coherent lesson with appropriate variations.
The goal is not to run three unrelated private lessons at the same time.
The Group Lesson Pathway
At least two rides each week are strongly recommended.
If a Level E student jumps, two rides per week are required.
A student riding only once per week does not have enough riding volume to make jumping a regular part of the education.
At least half of the riding education should remain Dressage and correct flatwork.
Jumping is normally no more than every other week.
That does not mean the rider cannot work with poles, gymnastic exercises, two point, or canter rhythm during other lessons.
It means we do not build the education around constantly jumping courses.
Level A
The Serious Riding School Student
Level A is where the riding school pathway becomes significantly more performance focused.
These students have completed the Level E foundation and are preparing for or already participating in horse shows.
Level A riders train at least three times every week.
That requirement matters.
A student cannot realistically develop the riding ability, feel, independence, horse management, Dressage, and Jumping expected at this level while riding once per week.
Level A groups contain no more than three riders.
Two riders is often ideal when the program has the capacity.
The normal jumping balance is approximately one Jumping lesson out of three riding lessons.
A rider training four or five times in a week may jump no more than two of those rides.
Dressage remains at the center.
Level A is not the point where we suddenly forget the foundation and start chasing heights.
It is where the foundation becomes good enough to use in more serious sport.
Build Groups by Education, Not Convenience
When you start creating the schedule, group riders who can safely and productively work toward similar objectives.
Do not group children primarily because:
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They are friends
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They are the same age
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They attend the same school
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Their parents want the same time
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An empty spot needs to be filled
Level E and Level A can both include riders at different stages within the level. That is normal. But the trainer still needs to be able to teach one meaningful class. If one rider cannot safely keep up with the group, the rider is in the wrong group.
Assign the Right Trainers
Not every trainer has to teach every level.
Use people's strengths.
One trainer may be exceptional with very young children and Shetty ponies.
Another may be outstanding at teaching the lunge line and building beginner position.
Another may be the right person for the more technical Level E and Level A work.
Your Head Trainer should oversee the complete pathway so that the levels remain consistent even when several trainers are teaching.
In Step 4, we will go deeper into trainer expectations and the weekly UDJC curriculum.
For now, decide who should teach what.
Make Sure the Horses Can Support the Program
Do this before you finish the schedule.
List your lesson horses and ponies.
For each one, ask:
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Which levels is this horse suitable for?
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How many lessons is the horse already doing?
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Does the horse also work in camps, clinics, birthday parties, training rides, or shows?
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Is the horse physically and mentally suited to the job?
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Does the proposed schedule create too much work on certain days?
A program can have plenty of students and trainers and still fail because it does not have enough suitable horses.
Do not discover that after launch.
If you need another beginner pony, another advanced school horse, or a better Level A horse, identify that gap now.
Existing Programs Can Stay
Your entire school does not have to become UDJC overnight.
A larger riding school may continue operating existing programs alongside the UDJC pathway.
But the distinction needs to be real.
If a student is part of the UDJC program, that student should receive the actual UDJC level structure and education.
Do not take an old lesson group and simply rename it Level E if the format does not meet the Level E standard.
Certification applies to what is actually happening in the arena.
Horsemanship Comes Next
Weekly horsemanship belongs in every level.
For this step, make sure your program has room for it.
In Step 4, we will go deeper into:
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Trainer responsibilities
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Weekly UDJC teaching materials
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Weekly horsemanship topics
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How each level uses those materials
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How trainers stay consistent
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How students are prepared for progression
Right now, we are building the structure that makes that education possible.
YOUR TASK
BUILD YOUR FIRST UDJC WEEKLY PROGRAM
Create a first draft of how Unicorn, B, E, and A will actually operate at your school.
Do not worry about implementing the full weekly curriculum yet.
That is Step 4.
For now, build the operational structure that will allow the education to happen correctly.